MICK Coakley needs no convincing about the restorative powers of the sea.
Taking the plunge in open waters has never been more a la mode but, for him and wife Kay, the current trend is old news.
For as long as they can remember, the couple have made the two-and-a-quarter hour trip from Donoughmore, north-west of Cork city, just over an hour’s spin from Bantry, to beautiful Waterville, nestled neatly in Ireland’s south-western tip.
On the beachfront stands a statue of the legendary Mick O’Dwyer, the man who spearheaded Kerry’s golden years and still lives in the town. A few hundred yards away is another, of Charlie Chaplin, who first visited Waterville in 1959 – on the recommendation of Walt Disney – and returned regularly during the decade that followed.
For Coakley, though, the sea has always been the star of the show. That’s why, even with the seasons swinging from summer to autumn, now edging towards winter’s first chill, this is their happy place.
“We have a mobile home here and we are here every chance we get. It’s a long drive, but we take our time, stop now and again.
“Sure I’ve all the time in the world…”
He may be 91 now but life always has been, and always will be, for living; swimming, family, farming, football, hurling - and an adventurer’s spirit - still propelling him from one day into the next.
And while there may not be a statue in Donoughmore just yet, Coakley occupies a significant space in the club’s history – providing a link between the modern day and a breakthrough moment in time as the last surviving member of the team that won their first Mid Cork Junior A Football Championship in 1952.
“I was only 19,” he says, “sadly the rest are all gone now. I’m the last man standing.”
Two more have been added in the 72 years since and, when the anniversaries of those wins in 1983 and 1999 were celebrated at a dinner last year, a special presentation was made to Mick on behalf of the class of ‘52.
“We’re only a very small parish – in the middle of nowhere but, as we say, in the middle of everywhere,” smiles Dan O’Shea, club stalwart and long-time friend of the Coakley family.
“That team has a special place in Donoughmore, and Michael’s a mighty man. My dad had a hardware shop, Michael was a farmer and used to come in, so I’d have known him and his family from their visits out.
“He’s always a man who would be full of fun and joy when you meet him - you’d always be the better for meeting him.
“They were the trailblazers, because any team that came after said ‘well if they can do it, why can’t we?’ Michael was a big part of that.
“He’s probably 5′5″, 5′6″ but, as my father used to say, what he lacked in stature, he made up for in heart.”
That lack of size, however, would count against him when he later tried out for the county minors.
“Even then, they were all big and strong, powerful men, and sure Cork has huge numbers to pick from. I was just too small in the end up, but that’s how it goes.
“I loved playing… probably the one that sticks with me most is scoring three goals in a divisional final. The fella who was on me mustn’t have been very good!”
Hurling, too, was always close to his heart; he could hardly call himself a Cork man if it wasn’t. As well as making the pilgrimage to Thurles for countless Munster finals, having an uncle who stewarded at Croke Park meant he barely missed an All-Ireland final – football or hurling – through the years.
“I was even there for the famous Mayo 1951 final.
“Maybe I’m carrying the curse in my back pocket all these years…”
Watching the greats of the game strut their stuff on the biggest stage would never be taken for granted either, but the best of all? One name sits right on the tip of his lips.
“Ring,” he says, “Christy Ring was exceptional.
“He was probably around 5″7′ but powerfully built, a fanatic, and he had no problem mixing it back with you… I saw it a few times.
“I was up at a league match in Limerick one time and there was a 70-metre free coming in. I thought I’d watch Ring, and just as the ball was coming into him, he took the full-back with a shoulder and put him into the net.
“He was the complete hurler - in the air, on the ground, you name it. He had all the skills, and then the will to win to top it off. Even if it was a friendly match, he played it the same as an All-Ireland final.”
And that love of the caman code has been reignited recently by the exploits of his grandson, Michael Marlow, with Antrim development squads and now the county minors.
“Ah it’s brilliant - Michael is improving, getting much better, and it’s great that he enjoys his hurling as well…”
Typically, there were a few back roads travelled along the way as well.
For a time Coakley served as a radio officer in the merchant navy, before the call came to return home and help out on the family farm.
There was also a brief flirtation with the saddle, inspired by older brother Denis - a successful businessman with a keen interest in horses who had runners in races all over, including the prestigious Deane’s Derby flat race.
“At that time a lot of farmers kept racehorses who maybe weren’t good enough for inside the rails, so they had what they called ‘flapper’ meetings, and I used to ride for a neighbour of mine.
“He had one, Curragh Lad, that won all round him.”
Those memories remain clear as day now, the passion for sport undimmed – even if the advent of GAAGO has curtailed what he watches at the height of Championship.
“No, I wouldn’t be a fan. I don’t think it’s how the GAA is supposed to be, if I’m honest.
“But I’ll watch anything that’s on TV – all sports, it doesn’t matter.”
Life continues to move at the pace he sets, with the curiosity that has brought him and Kay all over Europe, as well as to the likes of Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Egypt, Cuba, China, Morocco, Israel and communist-era Russia still evident as the couple have just recently returned from Mallorca.
“We got married in 1962, went to Mallorca for our honeymoon, and we haven’t stopped since – maybe this was a second honeymoon.
“But look, it’s pure luck, isn’t it? I drank, I did everything else, so there’s no special secret; I didn’t do anything exceptional, I didn’t live the life of a monk.
“I had the cataracts done a few years ago and threw away the glasses - the first morning after I looked out at the field and saw cattle I hadn’t seen in years.
“I’m 91 now, I try to make every day as interesting as I can – I’m in very good health. That’s the main thing. I can drink, I can eat, I’ve got a very good wife; life is good.”
